Pushed to the edges of life

Another from my short ramble about the countryside in central Wisconsin. Old silos dot the landscape and this one was right on the side of the road so I had to stop. I believe the field is still used, but obviously not this structure. I think this one is cement blocks with a metal roof. The REALLY old ones are wooden, but there are precious few of those around.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
  • Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

Normally I don’t go for an obvious effect in my photos, but I felt that a low-saturation, semi-monochromatic image with a flatter dynamic range would contribute to the idea of something past its prime and not valued. Keeping higher contrast and more color just seemed to fight that message. I can post a more “natural” photo to compare if you want.

Technical Details

Handheld

image

Lr for a bit of a crop because the fg is quite busy and the sky quite dull. The usual tone curve, sharpening and nr. Then I applied the Vintage 04 Profile and set the slider to 129.

1 Like

I think it was so creative to go with a flatter dynamic range Kris. The dull monochromatic image is really beautiful to my eye. The scene looks kind of barren and desolate, notwithstanding the trees. Barren and desolate like the silo. I really like your country scenes and am jealous you have so many to choose from!

Kris, another fine countryside image. I like how you’ve processed this and I think you accomplished your intent. It does feel past the prime and neglected. I think the snowy hill in the foreground leads the eye up to the middle hill then on to the tower. Well seen.

I also see a semi square crop in B&W that would work too.

Cheers,
David

Thanks @Mark_Muller & @David_Bostock - there is no shortage of scenes like this around here, even along well-developed lakes I’ve found abandoned cabins and houses. It’s weird to this New Englander.

I tried a B&W conversion for grins and didn’t like it as much. It didn’t speak to me as loudly I guess. And I did play with some crops as well, some tighter, but again something was missing. I appreciate the nudges in those directions though in case I hadn’t thought of them. Brain fades happen often!